36 Development Deferred: Eastern Sudan after the ESPA By the Small Arms Survey Copyright Published in Switzerland by the Small Arms Survey © Small Arms Survey, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva 2015 First published in May 2015 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without prior permission in writing of the Small Arms Survey, or as expressly permitted by law, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organi- zation. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Publications Manager, Small Arms Survey, at the address below. Small Arms Survey Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies Maison de la Paix, Chemin Eugène-Rigot 2E, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland Series editor: Emile LeBrun Copy-edited by Alex Potter ([email protected]) Proofread by Donald Strachan ([email protected]) Cartography by Jillian Luff (www.mapgrafix.com) Typeset in Optima and Palatino by Rick Jones ([email protected]) Printed by nbmedia in Geneva, Switzerland ISBN 978-2-940548-10-1 2 Small Arms Survey HSBA Working Paper 36 Contents List of maps, tables, and figures ................................................................................................................................................ 4 List of abbreviations ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 5 I. Introduction and key findings ............................................................................................................................................... 6 II. Background .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 11 The meaning of marginalization 11 The landscape 14 The people 16 The armed conflict 21 International dimensions of Eastern Sudan’s conflict 25 III. Eastern Sudan Peace Agreement of 2006 ...................................................................................................... 27 Negotiating and signing the ESPA 27 Terms of the ESPA 29 IV. Delayed results: implementing the ESPA .................................................................................................... 32 Political issues: governance and power 32 VI. Economic, social, and cultural issues ................................................................................................................. 39 VII. Women’s marginalization and the ESPA ................................................................................................... 49 The status of women in Eastern Sudan 49 The ESPA and women 49 Missing pieces 51 VIII. Security arrangements ......................................................................................................................................................... 53 IX. Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 60 Annexe. Chronology of Eastern Sudan ...................................................................................................................... 63 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................................................................. 69 Endnotes ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 70 References ................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 74 Small Arms Survey Development Deferred 3 List of maps, tables, and figures Map 1 Eastern Sudan Map 2 Agricultural schemes in Eastern Sudan Table 1 Sudan’s GDP and sectoral growth during peace and war, 1972–2008 (%) Table 2 Eastern Sudanese states’ contributions to zakat on crops, 2012 Table 3 Sudan’s human development indicators by region, 2008 Table 4 Under-five mortality per 1,000 live births, 1993, 2000, and 2006 Table 5 Sudan’s population, 2008 Table 6 Main ESPA provisions and progress on implementation as of January 2015 Table 7 Health insurance coverage by state and social group, 2009 (%) Table 8 EF ex-combatants integrated into GoS forces by 2014 Table 9 EF ex-combatants enlisted for DDR Figure 1 Per capita central transfers by the state, average for 2000–10 (SDG million) 4 Small Arms Survey HSBA Working Paper 36 List of abbreviations CPA Comprehensive Peace Agreement DDR Disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration EF Eastern Front ESPA Eastern Sudan Peace Agreement ESRDF Eastern Sudan Reconstruction and Development Fund ESSCC Eastern Sudan States’ Coordinating Council FFAMC Fiscal and Financial Allocations Monitoring Commission FGC/M Female genital cutting/mutilation GDP Gross domestic product GoS Government of Sudan HJMC High Joint Military Committee JEM Justice and Equality Movement NCP National Congress Party NDA National Democratic Alliance NISS National Intelligence and Security Service NRF National Reserve Fund PDF Popular Defence Forces SAF Sudan Armed Forces SDG Sudanese pound SPLM/A Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army SRF Sudan Revolutionary Front UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees UNDP United Nations Development Programme UPFLJ United People’s Front for Liberation and Justice USD US dollar Small Arms Survey Development Deferred 5 I. Introduction and key findings On 9 December 2014 a former Eastern Front (EF) combatant set himself on fire at the local government offices in Port Sudan, Eastern Sudan, to protest the government’s discriminatory treatment of ex-combatants, in an act reminis- cent of Mohammed Bouazizi’s self-immolation that ignited and inspired pro- tests and regime change in Tunisia, Egypt, and elsewhere in the Middle East and North Africa in 2010 and 2011. Three months earlier the same combatant had tried to set himself ablaze together with another ex-combatant after fail- ing to make an appointment to meet with Mohammed Tahir Aila, governor of Sudan’s Red Sea state, to protest the government’s failure to meet its financial obligations promised as part of the disarmament, demobilization, and reintegra- tion (DDR) arrangements associated with the Eastern Sudan Peace Agreement (ESPA). The Government of Sudan (GoS) and the EF—the latter comprising the Beja Congress, the Rashaida Free Lions, and the Democratic Party of East- ern Sudan—signed the ESPA in 2006, but many aspects of its implementation had been long delayed. These acts of political protest encapsulate the discon- tent experienced by the people of Eastern Sudan nine years after the signing of the ESPA. The years 2005 and 2006 saw a series of peace agreements between the GoS, on the one hand, and the various movements that constituted the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), on the other. Most notable was the Comprehen- sive Peace Agreement (CPA), which the GoS signed with the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) in January 2005 in Naivasha, Kenya. The GoS also signed a peace agreement in Cairo, Egypt, with most of the political forces constituting the NDA in June 2005. At the GoS–NDA negotiations in Cairo the Beja Congress and the Rashaida Free Lions, both of which sought to represent the people of Eastern Sudan, demanded better representation and a separate forum for discussions on the region. Beja Congress supporters organized a demonstration in Port Sudan and raised several demands, includ- ing recognition of the organization and a separate negotiating platform for it 6 Small Arms Survey HSBA Working Paper 36 Map 1 Eastern Sudan EGYPT Lake EGYPT Nasser Khartoum Nubian SUDAN Halib Wadi Halfa Desert SOUTH ETHIOPIA Lake CAR SUDAN Nuba Juba DRC NORTHERN RED SEA Port Sudan R e d S SUDAN e a e il Tokar N Merowe NILE Haiya Karora Atbara Ed Damer A tb a ra Khor Telkok Hamishkoreb KHARTOUM Omdurman Aroma ERITREA Khartoum KASSALA KaKassalassala NORTH New Halfa Asmara KORDOFAN GEZIRA n e a l f i rdo o s N t K ld Wadi s ie e e lf t W oi i m ity h Medani Gedaref ro n U W F d an GEDAREF B lu Rabak e Singa N i l Gallabat ETHIOPIA e WHITE NILE SENNAR Eritrean refuge camp Oilfield and pipeline Ed DamaDamazinzin Nominal international border (final location contested) Roseires SOUTH International boundary KORDOFAN Reservoir BLUE State boundary SSOUTHOUTH NILE National capital SUDAN State capital Selected roads and tracks Paloich 0 km 100 Selected rivers and lakes Adar Small Arms Survey Development Deferred 7 outside Sudan. Three days later, on 29 January 2005, the police killed at least 27 protesters in the Deim Arab area of Port Sudan. All but two were Beja Congress supporters. The Beja Congress and Rashaida Free Lions withdrew from the NDA and formed the EF on 22 October 2004. The Democratic Party of Eastern Sudan was formed after the Beja Congress split, and also joined the EF. The EF signed the ESPA with Khartoum in Asmara, Eritrea, on 14 October 2006, with Eritrean mediation.1 Divided into six chapters, the ESPA emphasized the social, political,